Cocktails Distilled

When creating a distilled spirit, it is usual to start either with an established spirit type or with flavour, but when Seth O’Malley and Brad Whiting created Wilderton they approached it from a very different standpoint. 

Starting instead with a layering of botanicals, that could not be easy identified as any particular flavour, the friends wanted to create a liquid that would function as a spirit without trying to be an already existing one.

The result is their two expressions, Lustre and Earthen, both of which were born out of curiosity about the depth of feeling that the botanicals used could express. 

To find out more, we speak to Seth O’Malley about botanicals, distilling and what it means to live and drink wild and free. 

In recent years, many vodka distilleries have relied on the marketing buzzwords such as clean, crisp, and pure, but there are few that can back up these claims as fully as Reyka vodka. 

Distilled on the west coast of Iceland in the shadows of the majestic Mt. Hafnarfjall. The distillery is part of a land like no other, a land of Vikings, volcanoes and crystal glacier waters. 

To find out more, we talked to US brand ambassador Trevor Schneider, about stills, geothermal power and flavour in vodka. 

While a lot of us did drink perhaps a little more than we should have during the pandemic, the real winner from our time of isolation was the non alcoholic drinks industry. 

Already picking up steam before COVID, the sale of non alcoholic beverages has skyrocketed over the last 18 months. 

One relatively new brand to the market but one that has definitely been making an impact is Everleaf, a complex and captivating range of non alcoholic aperitifs based in the UK. 

To find out more about the brand, what they are offering and the true nature of the appeal, we talk to Paul Mathew, the founder of Everleaf. 

In the world of cocktails, it's usually the spirits and the liqueurs that tend to get all the love. 

But as anyone who has made drinks knows, it's the syrups and mixes that are often the true stars of the show. But taking the flavour profile of your drinks up to the next level with a flavoured syrup is often more difficult than that sounds. 

Going through the rigamarole of having to find the ingredients and ensure consistency means that it's simply easier to turn to a pre-made syrup. 

One business that is sweetening the experience is Cocktails & Sons. Started by award-winning bartenders, and husband and wife duo,  Max Messier, and Lauren Myerscough, the brand aims to bring simplicity to your bar. 

To find out more, we talked to Lauren about flavours, simplifying syrups, and of course the drinks that you can make with them. 

The US craft distillation movement has come a long way in recent years, especially for gin. No longer seen as the lesser of the white spirits, US gin is contributing not only to the conversation but also to the glass. 

Unlike many other spirits... I'll start that again. Unlike many other spirits, gin is in the unique position to be able to capture the true sense of place through the use of local botanicals. It is a liquid that can express the essential character and spirit of a particular locale.

One such gin that is embracing the flavours that be found on its doorstep is St. George distilleries Terroir Gin expression. To find out more, we talked to Lance Winters, president and master distiller for St. George Spirits about their botanical gin, its distillation, and how it can be used. 

For many, the process of creating an outstanding whisky is akin to a religious experience. And that could easily be the analogy you use when describing the processes put in place by Waterford Distillery in Ireland. 

Although Single Malts are best known from the Scottish side of the industry, Ireland has been producing outstanding examples for centuries. 

Laying down their first liquid in 2015, Waterford may be a newcomer to the field but they believe the unwavering level of craftsmanship they bring to the whiskey will speak for itself

To find out more, we talk to Head Distiller, Ned Gahan about the nuances of terroir, traceability and transparency. 

For many of us, the idea of distilling gin is a mix of alchemy and mysticism. But for Dr Anne Brock, the head distiller at Bombay Sapphire, it is pure science and sensory memory. 

As the latest custodian for the brand, Brock has spent the last four years leading a team of 16 distillers at the brand's Laverstoke Mill Distillery but maintaining the core expression, while adding in innovation, isn't always easy. 

We talked to Brock about creativity, agility, and adding a little personality to an established brand. 

When you think of Wyoming, you probably think of towering mountain peaks, wild rivers, and wide-open plains. It is a land of National Parks, of prairies and of cowboys. It is big sky country.

But near the centre of the state, near a little town called Kirby, this land is also gaining a reputation for bourbon. And while this liquid will seem familiar, it is not your typical Kentucky bourbon, but instead of liquid that reflects its environment. 

It is a whiskey that's true to the land from which it comes forged from the dry summer heat and sub-zero winters. It is a whiskey that reflects the plains, the skies, and a pioneering spirit.

To understand more about the barrels and the liquid they create. We talked to David DeFazio from Wyoming Whiskey. 

It would be quite easy to say that Alexandre Gabriel has a unique sense about spirits. Not only did he take Maison Ferrand, a dormant Cognac house and turn it around, but he's also created some of the most iconic brands in a variety of spirit categories. 

One of the most notable is Citadelle Gin. 

Created in the mid-'90s, Citadelle was a front runner in the craft gin movement and set an example that raised the bar for the category, an example that many have tried to follow. 

Although Gabriel created the brand as a tribute to early French distilling, the brand has taken a unique approach to the production process from its botanicals through to its distillation.

To find out more, we talk to Alexandre Gabrielle about the brand, its philosophy and how best to use the expression in a cocktail. 

In the history of cocktails, we've spent more time trying to mask the taste of spirits than we have actually celebrating them. But recently the intricate marriage of unexpected flavours has not only become fundamental to cocktail making, but also to the distillation of the various spirits we put in these drinks.

Add to that, the number of techniques that bartenders have borrowed from the kitchen. And it's surprising that we've not seen more chefs, not only behind the bar but also beside the still. One such chef that has stepped forward to transfer his culinary skills into liquid is renowned celebrity chef Robert Irvine.

We talked to Robert about the inspiration behind Irvine Spirits, the vodka and gin he has produced and, of course, the cocktails that you can make with it.